Serious rust under carriage to point of full removal - HELP

There can be a lot of rust present, without structurally damaging a lot. But, it could be that bad. A friend had to junk a Kenworth because of frame rust. Go to another shop that does frame stuff. Do NOT tell them what the first shop said. Just say you want it checked out.

Rigs exposed to a great deal of salt air can literally rust out from under you. Ask anyone who lives on any coastal area.

Thank you to everyone for your help. I will get second and third opinions. '

ricelake922 wrote:
If someone could give me instructions on how to send pics I will do that. Thank you to all.

That probably won't help.

It's going to be almost impossible to get a good perspective on the actual severity from looking at pictures.

You NEED to get a second on-site inspection.

Rust removers are Phosphoric acid... you can buy it a HD in the paint dept. After scraping off what you can get to, spray it on. I've had good luck with spraying used diesel engine oil on rusted surfaces. Another product that seems to work and comes in aresole cans is Fluid Flim.

You can also buy a kit that comes with a suction air gun that could be used to spray on the Phosphoric acid.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Fluid-Film-1-gallon-Undercoat-Kit-with-Fluid-Film-spray-gun-2-Bottles-brush-/181969928686?hash=item2a5e40c1ee:g:wxUAAOSwYaFWeZXv

I was starting to see some very heavy rust on the frame of my FW. I was ready to have it sanded and repainted. On another forum, a member suggested that I try Rustoleum Rust Reformer. I was skeptical, but gave it a try in a small area. Wow! All I had to do was lightly wire brush it, rinse the area and let it dry. Then spray the rust reformer on. It neutralizes the rust, and leaves a black finish which can be painted if desired. I did the entire frame and fasteners in one afternoon, and there is no sign or the rust returning after several months.

Jim

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If someone could give me instructions on how to send pics I will do that. Thank you to all.

How about some pictures?
I deal with rust on some vehicles in the past and am strong believer in rust converters.
It works exceptionally on surface rust, but even when I had some members with 1/4" of rust build up, several application over the time made the rust falling off, or easy to chip off.
Rust expands a lot from original steel, meaning even under 1/4" of rust, steel chanel still wasn't too bad. YMMV

Sam Spade wrote:

ricelake922 wrote:
The under carriage of the RV is rusted to the point that it will require removal and replacement.

According to who ??

I was told that the seals were failing on ALL of my windows too and had to be replaced.....and some outrageous cost. All BS.

Get a second and third opinion.
The odds of this being necessary are EXTREMELY low.
The frame on most any 20 year old vehicle will LOOK like it's about ready to fall apart; it is NOT.

High probability of a scam here.

While a scam is certainly a possibility, if the motorhome were used during winter in northern areas where they salt the roads it's entirely possible that there could be significant structural rust after twenty years...or even ten years, especially with how poorly (compared to e.g. cars) most motorhome chassis are rustproofed/coated at the factory.

The frame of most any 20 year old vehicle will have at least some surface rust, yes...but at least up here, there's a good chance of far more than surface rust. Holes clear through frame rails on trucks are not at all unheard of.

If the motorhome spent its life in, say, Arizona, then the chances of a dangerously rusty frame are of course much, much lower.